Eating Disorders & Self-Compassion

Eating disorders often cause one to experience a lot of negative feelings toward oneself. Individuals may feel shame or guilt, and they may have harsh internal judgments that fuel the cycle of diminishing one's sense of self-worth.

Research has shown that self-compassion, which refers to being able to recognize that we are suffering and trying to alleviate these feelings through practices such as being kind to ourselves, is associated with greater well-being. Yet, individuals with eating disorders consistently demonstrate reduced self-compassion and increased fears of self-compassion. 

So, what does this mean? It suggests that individuals with eating disorders experience barriers to expressing self-compassion. Two of the main barriers that have been studied by Geller and colleagues (2022) are meeting standards and emotional vulnerability. The meeting standards barrier involves the fear that by being self-compassionate their flaws will show and they may lose things in their life because of this. Emotional vulnerability refers to fears that being self-compassionate can bring up difficult and negative emotions. These are just two barriers that help to explain why individuals with eating disorders may have a difficult time with self-compassion. 

Building self-compassion is a difficult, yet necessary, step in the treatment journey of eating disorders. While the process may be uncomfortable, especially for those who have fears towards feeling self-compassion, it ultimately helps open the door to healing. Dr. Kristin Neff, a leading researcher on self-compassion, identified three main elements of self-compassion: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. 

Self-kindness is about acknowledging what we are feeling and treating ourselves with care and understanding rather than being unduly harsh towards ourselves. Common humanity is recognizing that all humans experience their own suffering, and that imperfections come with being human. Finally, mindfulness means being able to regard our difficult emotions and experiences through a balanced approach, without giving them too much or too little power over ourselves. 

These elements of self-compassion are powerful tools in helping individuals who are on their eating disorder recovery journey. They offer an alternative perspective to that critical and harsh inner-voice that many individuals with eating disorders experience. By putting self-compassion into practice and learning to reduce the fears that come along with self-compassion, individuals can begin to have a better relationship with themselves. Self-compassion is not a sign of weakness, but rather a great strength that can be beneficial in creating a sustainable and healthy future for oneself. 

References

1. Geller, J., Samson, L., Maiolino, N., Iyar, M. M., Kelly, A. C., & Srikameswaran, S. (2022). Self-compassion and its barriers: predicting outcomes from inpatient and residential eating disorders treatment. Journal of Eating Disorders, 10(1), 1–114. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-022-00640-8

2. Neff, K. (n.d.). What is self-compassion? https://self-compassion.org/what-is-self-compassion/